Internal-combustion engine



O 3, H. E. REITER INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Fi led Jan. 6; 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 V June/1m .M YEQE/M Oct. '23, 1945. H. E. REITER INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Filed Jan. 6, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 23, 1945. H. E. REITER I INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Original Filed Jan. 6, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Oct. 23, 1945 UNITED PATENT; OFFICE f 2,387,467 r r INTERNALEGQ-MBUSTION ENGINE arms-i Reiter, Samlusky,,0hi'o Substituted for abandoned applicatiomserial' No; 3 73,356, Januaryfi; 1941. This application-June.

28, 1944,} Serial No. 542,501 v l 2 c aims; (Cl. 123-18 This invention relates to internal combustion engines; and particularly'hto the type; wherein the motion of oscillatingqpistons is converted. into rotary motion; of a drive shaft. Thisapplication is a substitute sformy applicationSBrial No. 3E a'i fiafi led-January 6,1941;

.alInternal combustionaengines; Off this general type: are; well known andmhave not proven commercially ieasible due possibly to certain inherent faults of design. This is aparticularlytrue witha respect to the: specific mechanism normally provided ion converting the, oscillating motion .05 the pistons into; rotary' motion of the-drive shaft.

some-instances, combustion engines of: this general type-J omitentirely any mechanism for converting the oscillating, motions of the pistons into rotary motion. of the-drive Shaft, and merelyllprovide anpexternal oscillating drive or crankshaft to which the necessary mechanical connectionsmust then be i made. In other. instances, the oscillating motion of the pistons is converted tmrotary -motion by various meansiexternal of the; enginee -casing, such as pitmans connected to oscillating cranks. and. thence-toother cranks; etc. It is obvious; that in-any of the above cases not; onlyv is; considerable power lost through. fricti qn pt theiadditional parts but more important,

additional stresses and torsional= forces are set unrequiring stronger and; heavier parts and resulting generally, in larger and: bulkier machines per. rated horsepowerin which the maintenance requirements are considerably" greater;

,It is, according-1m; the chief object of this inrelation to provideanxeflicienncompact engine structure which is completely self-contained; and whichwi-ll convert the-t powergenerated on the heads of the oscillating pistons to rotary motion oi a d riving; or crankshaftlwithout the disadvantages hereinbefore set. forth. ailor-then object is .to-provide an internal combustion-engine which will; convert the oscillating motion. oi, the pistons? into. a rotary motion of the drive or crankshaft by means of only 1 these two mo in -pa t A furthere objecm is to. provide aninternal comt n nen eQttnetype described wherein the component parts. are sorarranged as to eliminate excessive strains; orwtorsional forces thereon.

a turther object is to provide an internal com- Ianstion engine; whereinwan: oscillating piston unit directly: connected; by; asliding; or rollin bear- ;crank pin so ass-to producerotary mothercxanksh t. l s V thertobiectaislto;umvideian internal combustion engine of the type described: in whichthe means for converting the: oscillating" motion ofthe pistonsytm rotary motion of? the driving or crankshaft lies .in. the same general plane as the pistons:

1A iurtherrobiectgis to providez-as-tronen compact. and completely Seli -contained. power unit consisting of a: plurality; o=pistons and asingle throw crankshaft directly connectedvby a-single bearing. thus. eliminating: connecting .rods,; pitmans etcl- A iurtherobject. is to-providemovel meansfor maintaining; high compression :in the combustion chambers, by a. novelarrangement and assembly ofathepartsthereof.

A further object. is thezprovision of novel-packing .means for the 9. I'-011&te? piSt0ns '-t0 ensure a gas-tight seali'betweenz the: four sides of the piston andthecylincler and its side-.wallsa,

A further object istheprovision of an internal combustionxengine of the-type describedwherein thenumbert and: arrangement. of the component parts are reduced anclesimplified whereby. COIL- struction of the apparatus as a whole results inmater-ia-lureduction in initial cost operation cost; and-i cost 11 of. maintenance: and repair.

. Other. objects and advantages: of. the invention will-zbecome apparent during, the. coursenof the following description.

1111 the drawings I have disclosed one embodiment of theainventionl In-this showing:

5 Figure 1 is a front. elevationl-ot-the invention, a Figure 2 is a: rear elevation thereof,

Figure 3 is; a central vertical section; taken per;- pendicularto'theaxis of oscillation of the'engine, Figure ,4 is a section takemonline-l-kof Figurea i Figure 5 is"a urell,

Figure 6 istaperspective view of. the-rocker unit showing: one; at the pistonsmounted thereon Figure? issaw-perspectiveqview of: the crankshaft, and:

Figures-81 is axperspectiveview: ofa packing for i i the. pistons.

.1 Referring-tor the drawings it will be noted-that the i engine; comprising the. :present" invention is formed of fiveimain partapnamely, a'oyl-inder block H); afront head H aareari head |'2:',,a-rocker assembly 1l3ganda counterbalanced-crank; shaft '42. As will: becomevapparent; the rocker and crank shaft cooperate with: eachot-her to convert oscillating; movement ofthe. rocker unit. into rotary movementlof the crank: shaft. ltralsowill become'apparentthat of thefivermain-cemponent sectionrtaken. on line 5-5l 0t Figl usually encountered in internal combustion engines'of this general. type. l 1

Referring toFigure 3 it will be noted that the cylinder block comprises inner and outer cylindrical walls I5 and I6 respectively and these walls are concentric to each other.

I6 for securing the engine to a suitable support. While an engine of the stationary type has been cit The outer wall I5 is shown as being provided with aninternal base illustrated, it will be obvious that the engine is I capable of any use to which aninte'rnal 'combus- The cylinder block is tion engine can be put. provided at diametrically opposite points with integral connecting webs I1 and I8 betweenthe inne-rand outer walls- I5 and I6 to define two substantially semi-circular chambers I9 and to receive the pistons to be described.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated firing occurs in the upper part of the engine, as will be described, and to assist in dissipating heat, the block I0 is provided with radiating fins 2| while the front and rear walls II and I2 are provided with similar fins 22. For a reason to be described, the inner wall I6 is provided with diametrically opposite openings 24, and between these openings an arcuate web extends, this web being cast integral with the wall I6 and forming with the upper portion of such wall a space 26 for the passage of air through the engine. The portion of the wall I6 defining the top of the space 26 is also provided with radiating fins 21. The front and rear walls II and I2 are bolted to and against opposite faces of the block ID by suitable bolts 28 to form, in effect, an integral casing unit. The contacting faces of the elements of this unit are ground and lapped to-provide a leak-proof joint for a reason which will become apparent. a

The rocker I3 comprises a central substantially arcuate body 29 having diametrically oppositely projecting arms 30 for a purpose to be described. The body of the rocker is provided with aligned supporting shafts 3| (Figures 4 and 6) arranged axially of the cylinder block and supported in bearings 32 mounted in aligned cylindrical-extensions 33 formed integral with the respective front and rear plates II and I2. Axiallythrough the shafts 3| are respectively drilled passages 34 and 35 (Figure 4) and these passages are offsetfrom each other to communicate with upper and lower passages 36 and 31 drilled parallel to each other through the body 29 and arms 30.. The passages 34 and 35 communicate respectively withinlet and outlet fittings 38 and 39 connected to a suitable heat exchanger for the circulation of water through the engine in a manner to be described. The fittings 38 and 39 have their inner ends formed as packing glands slidableon the ends of the cylindrical extensions 33 and provided with theusual packing as shown in Figure 4.i- Each fittingis connected tothe adjacent plate II" or I2 by bolts 38 which may be taken up to compress packing in the fittings. The radially outer ends of the passages 36and 31 communicate with each other as at 40 (Figure 3) butthe end portions of the passages 36 are blocked off as at 4| to'prevent the passage of waterradially out-- wardly through the passage 36an'd thence downwardly through the connections 48. Each connection 40 has an inlet port 42 while a similar port 43 is provided for each end of the passage 36.

The crank shaft I4 is arranged below and parallel to the axis of the rocker unit and is journaled in bearings 44 mounted in cylindrical extensions 45 formed integral with the respective plates II and I2. The crank shaft is shown in the present instance as a single throw shaft and the single crank 46 of the shaft is rotatable in a bearing block 41 reciprocable in a radial slot 48 formed in the bottom portion of the body 29 of the rocker. It will be apparent that this connection between the rocker and the crank 46 provides means for translating the rocking movement of the rocker I3 into rotary movement of the crank shaft. The crank shaft is suitably l counterbalanced as at 49 (Figures 4 and 6) and one end of the shaft may be notched as at 50 to provide suitable means for operating a timer (not shown). I

Pistons 5| and 52 are mounted in the respective chambers I9 and 2|] and oscillate in such chambers. It will be apparent that the pistons are arcuate in contour and correspond in crosssectional shape to the cross-sectional shapes of the chambers in which they are arranged. The piston 5| divides the semi-circular chamber I9 into a compression chamber 53 and firing chamber 54, while the piston 52 similarly divides the semi-circular chamber 26 into a compression chamber 55 and firing chamber 56. Each of the two piston structures is mounted on one of the projecting arms 38 of the rocker structure as shown in Figures 3 and 6. V

The upper end of each piston isprovided with an inner wal15'I spaced from the outer wall of the piston to provide a water space 58. The radially outer portion of each space 58 communicates with one of the openings 42 (Figure 3) while the radially inner portion of each space 58 communicates with one of the ports 43. Accordingly it will be apparent that water flowing through passages 36 will flow through the circulating space 58 of each piston, through ports 43 and thence from port 42 of each piston to be returned'to the source through passages 3! and 35. e The two face plates II and I2 are lapped and ground to provide an accurate fit against the sides of the piston while the radially inner and outer surfaces of the pistons are accurately fitted to the corresponding walls of the block I0. In practice therefore, it has been found that a substantially leak-proof contact is provided'between the pistons and cylinders. However, to further provide against leakage of pressure and possible oil pumping, the pistons may be provided with the novel sectional packing rings as shown in Figure 8, each ring being designated as a whole by the numeral 60. If desired, the endofeach piston adjacent its combustion chamber may be provided with three rings while the c'ompression end of each piston may be provided with two rings, although it will be obvious that any desired number of rings may be employed. Referring to Figure 8, it will be seen that each packing ring comprises four elements 6| which may be similarly constructed and in fact, if the pistons aresquare in cross-section, the packing elements 6| may be identical. Each packing element 6| is provided at oneend with a notch 62 and at its other end with a projecting tongue 63 receivable in the notch 62 of the next adjacent packingelement 6 I. Theseelements, when assembled, form a perfect square or other rectangle having an external shape identical with that of the piston'with which the pistons and the motion translating means between the rocker and crank shaft in a common plane. Thus the elimination of means externally of the plane of the pistons for connecting the rocker to the crank shaft completely eliminates the objectionable torsional vibrations which are always. present in such a mechanical arrangement. Moreover, the present construction minimizes the length of the motor, that is, the size of the motor in a directional parallel to the crank shaft.

The present construction lends itself readily to air cooling, both combustion chambers being completely surrounded by radiating fins as will be apparent from an examination of Figures 1, 3 and l. However, more efficient cooling is provided .bythe water circulating system shown. Water or any other desired cooling medium may be supplied through the fitting 38 to the passage 34 from whence it flows in opposite directions as viewed in Figure 3 into the radially inner portion of each chamber 58 and thence out of the radially outer portion of this chamber through ports 42 into the ends of the passage 31. As will be apparent from Figure 4, the liquid from the passage 31 will flow through passage 35 to be discharged through the fitting 39 to a suitable heat ex-' changer (not shown) It will be obvious, of course, that the slot 48 may be equal in width to the diameter of the crank 46 to directly transmit power thereto. The

use of the bearing block 41, however, is greatly preferred since it eliminates lines of contact between the slot 40 and crank 46 and provides broad and adequate bearing surfaces which greatly increases the length of the mechanical connection between the rocker and the crank. This arrangement, of course, directly transmits power to the crank shaft without the use of piston pins and connecting rods. The construction moreover, provides for a relatively long-stroke piston with a relatively short throw crank, thus resulting in a high piston speed with relation to crank shaft speed. Accordingly it is possible without increasing the size of the engine to provide a leverage between the rocker and crank shaft which is substantially greater than that usually employed ina reciprocating type engine.

As previously stated, the engine is shown as being of the two-stroke cycle type, but obviously may be adapted for four-stroke cycle use. In such case suitable conventional valves would be employed for the combustion chambers. Moreover, in such type of engine, the pistons may be double-acting, all of the chambers 53, 54, 55 and 56 becoming combustion chambers. The firing order of such a four-stroke cycle engine would be consecutive in one direction ,circumferentially around the engine, thus providing maximum power with minimum lossjdue to friction and accordingly providing smooth and efficient operation.

It will be obvious that the lower part of the interior of the inner wall I6 serves as the crank case of the engine, and accordingly the crank 46 and bearing block 41 constantly operate in a bath of oil to materially reduce friction and wear. The cylinder walls have no direct open communication with the crank case and accordingly there is no excess splashing of oil on the cylinder walls through which excessive oil pumping can occur. Three sides of each piston, that is, each side except the radially inwardly facing side, operate throughout their area against a wall of the cylinder or plates l I or l2. The remaining or radially inner face of each piston communicates with the space within the wall 16 to receive through the openings 24 suificient oil to lubricate the pistons without providing excessive lubrication through which excessive carbonization of the combustion chambers and oil pumping can occur.

It will be obvious that the entire engine may be readily and easily assembled in much less time than is required with other internal combustion engine structures. Each piston is shrunk on its associated arm 30 and the entire rocker structure thereby becomes, in efiect, a single unit. The rocker unit may be placed in position by inserting it axially into position. The openings 24 are cut through at least one side of the cylinder block to permit such insertion to take place. The two walls I I and-l2 are then placed in position against opposite sides of the cylinder block and bolted thereto. The mode of assemblin the other elements of the structure such as the spark plugs, exhaust manifold, etc. will be obvious.

Accordingly it will be apparent that the present construction embodies only five main units, namely the cylinder block, the two side walls, the rocker and the crank shaft, thus providing for extreme simplicity in design and economy in manufacture. It also will be apparent that the device comprises only two main moving parts, namely, the rocker and the crank shaft, the simple bearing block 41 forming the only other movable element of the engine.

The compact design of the engine permit a I wide range of use as to space requirements with respect to the power required. For example, the required power can be delivered by an engine of small over-all height and greater cross-section or by one of larger over-all height and smaller cross-section, depending also, of course, on the type of engine required. The engine accordingly is capable of flexibility in design and the space requirements for an engine of given power is less than that of a conventional engine.

The high piston speeds and comparatively low crank shaft speeds produce very high torque, thus greatly increasing the mechanical efliciency of the unit with a corresponding improvement in fuel consumption at both high and low speeds. The heavy pressures on cylinder'and piston walls present in conventional engines, caused by thrusts incident to the angularity of the connecting rods with respect to the pistons, are absent in the present construction due to the elimination of the connecting rods. By eliminating conventional piston pins, the wear and lubrication problems incident to the use of these elements are eliminated.

In many installations, reduction gears in the final drive may be eliminated due to the design of the motor which permits very high piston speeds at comparatively low crank shaft speeds withincreased torque on the crank shaft.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes in the shape, siz and arrangement of parts may be. resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoinedclaims.

I claim: v

1. An internal combustion engine comprising a three-part casing including an integral cylinder block formed of inner and outer substantially cylindrical walls and circumferentially. spaced integral webs connecting said walls, and front and rear heads secured against said block and cooperating with said walls and said webs to form an arcuate cylinder, said inner wall having a radial opening therethrough spaced from said webs, an

arcuate piston mounted for movement in said cylinder, a rocker body within said inner wall and connected to said piston through said opening, a crank shaft parallel to the axis of said rocker, a crank on said shaft arranged in the plane of said cylinder block, and means arranged in said plane cylindrical walls and circumierentiaily spaced'integral webs connecting said walls, and front and rear heads secured against said block and cooperating with said walls and said webs to form an arcuate cylinder, said inner wall having a radial opening therethrough spaced from said webs, an arcuate piston mounted in said cylinder, a rocker body connected to said piston through said opening and arranged in the plane of said cylinder block, said rocker body being supported to rock on the axis of said cylinder, and a, crank shaft having a crank thereon arranged in said plane, said rocker body having a radial slo't receiving said crank.

HARRY E. REITER. 

